CHKDSK Error: Cannot open the volume for direct access

When starting up your computer (Windows XP) if you get a message like:

Cannot open volume for direct access.
The type of the file system is NTFS.
Windows has finished checking the disk.

when trying to run CHKDSK on the local drive, then follow the steps below.

Microsoft's only solution is to install SP2 however, this will only fix the problem if there is another line "IFSUTIL: Can't open drive. Status returned = c0000043." is present. Most of the time, however, this line is not present and other steps are required.

Note: This solution has not been tested on Windows Vista, however if the above problem occurs, trying the following solution should not damage your system.
Note 2: You may want to print this solution because you will be required to restart in the middle.

-- Basic Solution --
1) Goto Start -> Run
2) Type "cmd" (no quotes)
3) Type and execute in the Command Prompt window: "chkdsk /F" (no quotes)
3a) If you were trying to perform chkdsk on another drive then type "chkdsk /F" then your drive (ex: "chkdsk /F D:")
4) When it asks if you want to check the volume on the next system restart, press "y" and return
5) Goto Start -> Run
6) Type "msconfig" no quotes
7) Goto the "BOOT.INI" tab and check the box labeled "/SAFEBOOT"



8) Press Apply, then Close
9) When it asks if you want to restart, choose "Restart"
10) The chkdsk Scan should now successfully run
11) When the scan is complete, login, and once again goto Start -> Run
(If a System Configuration dialog comes up, click "OK" [see below] )
12) Type "msconfig" (no quotes) again
13) Once again, goto the BOOT.INI tab and this time, uncheck the "/SAFEBOOT" option
14) Click Apply, then Close, and then Restart

If you get the following window, when you computer starts:


Check the box next to "Don't show this message..." and click OK

Afternote: You will have to do this everytime you want to run chkdsk on the local drive.

If the above solution did not work, please send me an email:

or comment below. If it did work, Congrats! More fixes will be added as time goes on....

The full potential of netsh.

I have not been around much to have been posting some new errors. I have received many emails over the past few weeks and I have been trying to reply (usually in under an hour) and get everyone's problems fixed. Remember you can email me at:


Now time to move on to: Netsh.

Netsh is a command-line based tool that can be used to locally or remotely administer a computer. I recently stumbled upon it when I was searching for a way to set DNS servers via the command-line. Various "things" you can do with Netsh will be shown below:

Set IP Address/Subnet/Gateway
netsh interface ip set address "<name of connection>" static <ip address> <subnet> <default gateway>

Set DNS Server(s)
netsh int ip set dns "<name of connection>" static <ip address> primary
To Set More DNS Servers:
netsh int ip add dns "<name of connection>" <ip address>

Set Connection To DHCP
netsh interface ip set address "<name of connection>" dhcp

Set WINS Server(s)
netsh interface ip set wins "<name of connection>" static <ip address>
To Set More WINS Servers:
netsh interface ip add wins "<name of connection>" <ip address>

Those are just some basic examples. I hope that you can benefit from this command as much as I recently have been able to!

-James Hartig

Windows Search 4.0 Installation Failure

In Windows Update on XP, Windows Search 4.0 might fail to install and I have a quick fix for this in case you are not able to install it correctly.

First click - Start > Run and type "services.msc" and scroll down and look for the service called "Terminal Services". Now start the service by right clicking on it and selecting "Start". If it is disabled and un-clickable, then right click on the service and click "Properties" and then click "Manual" on the Startup type. After you do that, the "Start" button should be enabled.

Then try to install Windows Search 4.0 and it should work properly.

WordPerfect Freezes/Hangs On Print Of a Document

Having a problem printing documents from WordPerfect? When you go to print a document, does the program just freeze/hang and just stop responding?



Solution 1: Clear Cache
(Note: This did not work for me, but supposedly it should for some people)
1) Goto the "File" menu along the top bar, then select "Print"
2) Click the "Status" button along the right side (screen seen above)
3) Clear all of the documents in the list by selecting each one and pressing the 'Delete' key (or holding it down)
4) Try to print again

Solution 2: Add PrintServer To Startup
1) Goto "Start" -> "Run"
(if there is no Run command... do the following)
1a) Right-Click on the Start and select 'Properties'
1b) Next to the "Start Menu" selection click "Customize"
1c) Scroll Down and find "Run Command" and select the check box
1d) Then Goto Start -> Run

2) Type in the Run box: "msconfig" (no quotes)
3) In the "System Configuration Utility" box that came up, goto the "Startup" Tab



4) Look for something that relates to "PrintServerxxx" (where xxx are numbers between 100 and 150)
4a) If there is something that has that name, then this solution is not for you
4b) If you don't see anything relating to that, then continue
5) Close the "System Configuration Utility"
6) Right click on "Start" and either choose "Explore All Users" or "Open"
7) Navigate through: "Programs" -> "Startup"
8) Right click somewhere in the folder (the large white space in the window) and choose "New" -> "Shortcut"
9) Click "Browse"



10) Navigate through: "My Computer" -> "Local Disk" -> "Program Files"
10a) If you installed Word Perfect Office then navigate into the "WordPerfect Office xx" (where xx is the version of your software) folder
10b) If there is no "WordPerfect Office" folder, then open the folder "Corel", then your type of installation folder (ex: "WordPerfect Family Pack 4" or "WordPerfect Family Pack 5"
(Note: Depending on where you installed WordPerfect, you might have to try different drives under "My Computer")
11) Open the folder "Programs" then select a program related to "PrintServerxxx.exe" (where xxx is a number between 100 and 150) ((also, there may not be a .exe))
12) Press "OK"
13) Press "Next >" then "Finish"
(Note: If any Firewall or Security software alerts you that a "Startup Entry" was added, the just allow or click ok)
14) Restart your computer
15) Try to print your document again

The second solution worked for me when I went to fix my Grandparent's computer. Hope it works for you!
As usual, you can email me (I usually respond within hours) or comment here if you have any problems or questions.

Hope that helps!
-James Hartig

OOo-dev cannot be started: corrupt configuration data

Today, when I started up my computer, I was greeted with the following message:



Which stated that: "OOo-dev cannot be started due to an error in accessing the OOo-dev configuration data."
Also, it provided some useful information, such as: "The following internal error has occurred: /org.openoffice.Office.Recovery". This will be very handy later on.

Similar Errors:
"OpenOffice cannot be started due to an error in accessing the OpenOffice configuration data"
"OpenOffice cannot be started due to an error in accessing the OpenOffice.org configuration data"

"StarOffice cannot be started due to an error in accessing the StarOffice configuration data"
(if this is your error, after running the %APPDATA% (step 3) , open the folder "StarOffce7" [or something similar] then continue with the normal steps)

Solution 1 (if there was an 'Internal Error' message)
1) Goto Start -> Run
2) Type in "%APPDATA%" (no quotes)
3) In the new window that popped up, open up "OOo-dev3" or "OpenOffice2" (or something similar [with "OOo" in it or "openoffice" in it] )
4) Navigate through the following folders: user -> registry -> data
5) Now, the following depends on what was displayed as the error message.
6) Follow the folders as the error was shown (the last 'part' is the file)
example: if "/org.openoffice.Office.Recovery" then open the folders org -> openoffice -> Office

7) For my error message (shown above) I went (from within the data folder) through:
org -> openoffice -> Office

8) In the folder, now look at the last part of the string which is the filename.
example: if "/org.openoffice.Office.Recovery" then work with the file Recovery.xcu
example 2: if "/org.openoffice.Office.Common" then work with the file Common.xcu
9) Now take that file, and rename to something else (Recovery -> OLD.Recovery).
10) Start OpenOffice and it should fix the problem and load correctly!

11) If not, then continue through the next solutions.

Solution 2 (if there wasn't any 'Internal Error' message)
1) Goto Start -> Run
2) Type in "%APPDATA%" (no quotes)
3) In the new window that popped up, open up "OOo-dev3" or "OpenOffice2" (or something similar [with "OOo" in it or "openoffice" in it] )
4) Navigate through the following folders: user -> registry -> data -> org -> openoffice -> Office
5) Once in the 'Office' folder, delete everything except the "Common.xcu" file.
6) Try to start OpenOffice
7) If it loads correctly, congrats! If not, continue.


8) It seems like it still didn't work for you. Now go ahead and delete the "Common.xcu" file in the "Office" folder.
9) Try to start OpenOffice again
10) It should work now, but if not, continue to the next solution.


Solution 3 (if the above ones won't work)
1a) Restart your computer (or if you are too impaitent, continue)
1b) Goto Start -> Run
2) Type in "%APPDATA%" (no quotes)
3) In the new window that popped up, open up "OOo-dev3" or "OpenOffice2" (or something similar [with "OOo" in it or "openoffice" in it] )
4) Locate the folder: "user".
5) Rename the folder to "user2" (no quotes)
6a) Start OpenOffice, it should bring up a Configuration Wizard, follow the steps and your done!
6b) If you want, you can now go back and delete the created "user2" folder.
7) If it still doesn't work, I have no idea what has happened and you should continue your search somewhere else. (you can email me, but I cannot guarantee any fixes with OpenOffice)

Questions or Problems? Email me @


Hope That Helps!
-James Hartig

Windows Audio Driver Failure

If your Windows audio driver has stopped working all the sudden and you know for sure it is installed then there is a quick fix to this. This may not always work due to corrupt driver and you may need to reinstall the driver. Also if you have received the following error messages, this fix might work:
1. - "Windows Media Player cannot play the file because there is a problem with your sound device. There might not be a sound device installed on your computer, it might be in use by another program, or it might not be functioning properly."
2. - "iTunes has detected a problem with your audio configuration. Audio/Video playback may not operate properly."
Or any other error in a program warning you that your audio may not work properly.


How to fix problem:
Click Start > Run > Type "services.msc" and press "OK"
Then scroll down to "Windows Audio".
Right Click on "Windows Audio" then click "Start" or "Restart".

If this does not fix your audio problem then you probably have a corrupt audio driver and you may need to reinstall it.

Myspace Music Player White Blank Not Loaded (Fixed!)

In a previous post written by James (http://fastest963windows.blogspot.com/2008/06/myspace-music-player-white-blank-not.html), he wrote about how the Myspace.com music player showed up blank and I have found the fix.

OpenDNS puts lads.myspace.com in the "Adware" block site category and thus blocks that domain from any requests. If you are your network administrator, unblock the "Adware" category and then wait a minute or so (and maybe restart your browser) and then it will show up again. (Or instead of disabling the blocking of "Adware" you could just whitelist Myspace.com like Jimmy said)

Weird how the OpenDNS community tagged that domain as "Adware". Its a music player for goodness sake lol.

Travis Cunningham